The New England Patriots are on the verge of winning their first Lombardi Trophy since 2019 as they take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Leading this charge to the Big Game after a disappointing 3-14 season is QB1 Drake Maye, who has been pivotal in New England winning the divisional and conference championships. But despite his breakout performance, Maye lost the NFL MVP award to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, a decision that has franchise legend Rob Gronkowski openly questioning the league’s MVP voting process.

“Obviously, stats have to play that into the factor,” Gronkowski said during an interview with USA Today. “Touchdown passes, no doubt. Touchdown passes mean a lot. But I wish it kind of goes into the playoffs as well. Because mostly any MVP candidate is in the playoffs. I mean only one person, I think, in history who won the MVP and didn’t make the playoffs. So, I think the playoffs should go into it.”

With this comment, Rob Gronkowski wants the league to consider a candidate’s playoff performance and impact, especially as the award is announced just before the Super Bowl. However, the NFL requires the MVP voters to submit their votes before the start of the playoffs, though the exact date is unclear. These voters can nominate five players on their ballots. The final total is tallied using a point system, which weighs first-place votes most heavily.

In the 2025 NFL MVP race, Stafford edged out Drake Maye as he finished with 366 points, getting 24 of 50 first-place votes, while Maye had 361 points and 23 first-place votes. This was the closest MVP race since there were co-winners in 2003, when Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning shared it.

Stafford led the NFL in passing yards (4,707), touchdowns (46), and touchdown-interception ratio (5.8), giving him 313 more passing yards and 15 more touchdowns than Maye. Then, in the playoffs, Stafford once again bettered Maye as he threw for 936 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception in three games, while the Patriots’ QB1 had 533 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in the same number of games.

This time around, Matthew Stafford would have been the clear MVP favorite even if playoff performance were considered. Still, Rob Gronkowski’s statement reveals his enduring passion for his former team, a loyalty that also showed in his Super Bowl pick.

Rob Gronkowski predicts a 2015 repeat for SB LX

As the league gears up for the Big Game of the season, Super Bowl predictions are a hot topic of discussion at this time of year. Hence, during his appearance on the Jimmy Fallon Show, as Rob Gronkowski was asked about his pick for Super Bowl LX, the former Patriots tight end picked his former team without a shadow of a doubt.

“Well, I’m gonna break the trend of being wrong, and I’m going with the New England Patriots,” Gronkowski said. “I will be right this time, and I’m going with the same exact score as when we beat [the Seahawks] in Super Bowl XLIX: New England 28, Seattle 24.”

With this statement, Gronk addresses his poor track record of picking the Super Bowl winner on the popular talk show over the last few years. Despite Gronk’s prediction on January 30, 2023, that the Philadelphia Eagles would win, the Kansas City Chiefs were the victors. Subsequently, on January 29, 2024, the ex-tight end selected the San Francisco 49ers, yet the Chiefs emerged victorious in that game. Gronkowski was with the Chiefs on January 29, 2025, yet the Eagles ended up winning.

However, this time, Rob Gronkowski hopes that Drake Maye can continue his stellar form to help him break this Super Bowl curse and bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Foxborough.